"They took the leather out, and it doesn't even feel right to me," Sura said. "I'm like a fish out of water."

That's because he's been out of the pond for more than 14 months with the latest in a string of knee and back surgeries that had the 33-year-old guard pondering the end of his NBA career.

"It's good to get back in and smell the gym, break a sweat, those kinds of things," Sura said. "You get the juices flowing pretty quick. I had almost written myself off, having not been around the game for a whole year. But now I'm encouraged by what's happened."

Sura has gone through the paces of four workouts at Toyota Center the past two weeks and has seen just enough glimmer of hope to keep him pushing forward.

"They've gone pretty well," he said. "Better than I expected. So I'm encouraged at the progress that's being made. I'm going 45 minutes to an hour and haven't had any setbacks."

However, that's still a long way from putting the 6-5 stick of dynamite and the explosive pop that Sura brings to every game back into the Rockets' lineup. Sura, who hasn't played since May 7, 2005 — Game 7 of the first-round playoff loss at Dallas — will use the next 2 1/2 months before training camp as his own personal tryout.

"They haven't given me a timetable," he said. "But I've had several conversations with (coach) Jeff (Van Gundy), and I don't want to handcuff the team as far as them using my money if I'm not able to do it.

"I've got to convince myself. If I'm able to do it, am I going to be the player I was a couple of years ago? There's a lot of factors to consider. And there's just too much of an unknown to speculate on what's going to happen yet."

The Rockets' backslide last season began when Sura underwent knee surgery in June 2005. He had another knee surgery in September and had back surgery in November. The Rockets missed not just the 10.3 points a game he scored for them the previous season but more importantly his dive-on-the-floor-for-everything mentality.

"I ran into a few of the guys at Dikembe (Mutombo's) charity function (Thursday) night, and it felt good, those guys letting me know that they wanted me back," he said. "They talked about my personality and how much they missed me."

That personality and willingness to literally throw his body into a game is not exactly the best therapy for someone on the mend following seven surgeries the past 11 years.

With the additions of Vassilis Spanoulis, Kirk Snyder and likely John Lucas III, the Rockets will have fresh bodies in their backcourt. But to get back a veteran with the savvy and spunk of Sura would be a surprise. Even to him.

"(Not playing) has crossed my mind," he said. "Some people that are close to me, family members, they want me to take that route. They say it's not worth it to risk the future, whatever might happen with my knees or back.

"But this is all I've known, all I do. So I'm going to give it one more shot. It's not going to be for another contract, not going to be for the money. It will strictly be for the love of the game."